Handmade

Safflower is an intriguing botanical specimen for pigment extraction due to its chemical composition and historical significance. From a single plant specimen one can obtain two distinct colors. Over the last two years, I’ve been attempting to cultivate safflower in my natural dye garden, not just to gather the petals for making edible flower salt, but also to extract natural pigments. The first year showed promise as the plants produced gorgeous buds; however, they were scorched by the extreme heat…

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Not long ago, I ventured out to forage for Japanese Knotweed roots, a perfect endeavour on a chilly day as I sought respite from sports and craved exploration amidst the cold, grey winter landscape. While I had previously experimented with extracting colors from the leaves and stems of Japanese Knotweed during summers, my curiosity was piqued after delving into some research articles. This time, I was eager to dig deeper, quite literally, and uncover the potential for color extraction from…

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Explore the art of crafting watercolor paints with readily available kitchen staples. Introduction Watercolor painting is a beautiful and expressive type of art that captures your imagination. However, high-quality artist-grade watercolor paints can be quite costly, making them an aspiration that’s challenging to attain for many, especially in regions where art supplies are scarce or economic conditions are modest. The Spark of Inspiration The inspiration for my cost-effective watercolor paint recipe was sparked by the narrative of one of my…

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